In order to improve bus-based services in Mexico City’s Metropolitan Area (MCMA), the city government has designed a pilot corridor with exclusive bus lanes on Insurgentes Avenue. The “Insurgentes BRT Corridor” will be implemented along 19.3 of the 34 km of Insurgentes Avenue, starting in Indios Verdes in the north, and ending in Doctor Galvez, Rectoria in the south. This corridor will improve transport conditions for the 250,900 trips per day made by commuters accessing the commercial and service areas along Insurgentes and will make an important contribution to sustainable development.

The project is also intended to reduce local airborne pollutants and to demonstrate and develop the tools required to measure and monitor carbon emission reductions from the transport sector. Whilst the operation of one single corridor does not result in large emission reductions, the project will enable the application of these tools and procedures on an already envisaged network of 33 corridors in the MCMA. The availability of certified emission reductions is expected to accelerate this process.

Eighty (80) diesel-fuelled high-capacity articulated autobuses, will replace the current fleet of around 350 buses and microbuses. The new buses will be high capacity, diesel fuelled, EPA’98 compliant, state-of-the-art low pollutant articulated units within the limitations placed by current fuel availability.

The crediting period selected for the project is 7 years renewable twice for a maximum of 21 years, beginning 22/8/2005. It is proposed that the GhG reduction be verified and certified in the first period in years 1, 4 and 7 and subsequently on a three-yearly basis. The emissions totals of CO2 equivalent that will be reduced through this project in the first 7 year period will be of the order of 354,607 tons.